I figured out how to remove the control panel. There were two pieces of metal that I needed to wedge up using my putty knife...but my knife was so wide it was hitting the edge of a rigid piece of metal as well. If having the same difficulty as I did, then slide about a half inch of your putty knife under the front L and front R side of the control panel and press towards the back...you should feel the tension release.

But then my machine had a whole store of surprises for me. Instead of small springs attached at the bottom, it has long metal rods attached to springs and the basket near the bottom/midway pt. The top of the metal rods hangs out at each top corner of the unit.

There aren't any counter springs that I could find either. Every spring looks to be in like new condition, and the whole thing is relatively level. The motor and everything looks fine, although I know next to nothing about that stuff.

I'm thinking about just putting everything back together to see if it magically works correctly. Any suggestions before I do this?

Cheers!

This is a direct drive Whirlpool washer, no suspension rods. I would check the back spring,maybe wore through the frame. If ok, compare the left and right bottom tub area, the skate board under the tub might be miss-aligned.

Unfortunately the problem is back in full force. Rich, would you mind explaining your idea in a bit more detail? Where is the back spring, and how do I check level of skateboard? Also...what is the skateboard? Much appreciated!

EDIT: And this is damn embarrassing, but I don't remember how to take the casing off. When I remove the top control panel there aren't two retaining clips like EVERY single video and repair guide show. Any thoughts? I have tried to repeat everything I did last time but to no avail.